Explosions
by InspiredByWords
Summary: Just a short story when Snape becomes Hermione's knight in shining armour, well not really but sort of. They realise the feeling is mutual. Rubbish summary. My first ever story, read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All rights go to the magnificent JK Rowling, not me!

Explosions – Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first attempt at a fanfiction story, so be kind! I guess that by doing this I hope my own writing skill will improve greatly. I accept all advice, so please review. It will probably be a couple of short chapters, with no real plot. Just an incident where he acts as 'knight in shining armour' sort of thing. I'll see how my creative juices flow. I've got a very vague idea of what will occur while I write this note but I'm hoping that the story will flow well...**

**Italics are for character's thoughts.**

It was Potions, first thing on a Monday morning and as Hermione Granger scuttled into the dungeon classroom with her two dunderhead friends, Snape seemed to be in a fouler mood than ever. He didn't even speak, but the instructions for brewing the potion were present upon the board. Hermione groaned, Neville would never cope with this. Gryffindor would surely lose points today, and of course this meant that Snape's oh-so-beloved Slytherin would earn some for just being Slytherin.

The potions room was silent as the seventh year Gryffindor-Slytherin group began their brewing. Occassionally, their professor would glance up from his marking to assess his class. He knew he did not have to worry about the whole class, most of them had managed to gain some sense after six years of potions at the school but Neville Longbottom. Well. What could be said? Snape didn't have the faintest idea how he could've made it into Advanced Potions. Oh, yes, he did. _Granger. Little Miss know-it-all. _

At that thought, he cemented his gaze on the young girl. Hermione had her hair pulled back but there was still a few loose hairs falling into her face, and though it looked as if they weren't pestering her he could see from her eyes that they were somewhat a bother to her. How he wished to brush them away from her face. She worked so well, her fingers cutting the ingredients precisely and stirring so carefully, as if her life depended on it. _Well it did, _he thought to himself sarcastically. She had certainly grown into herself, no longer the bushy haired, buck toothed girl of eleven he always remember her as. The Gryffindor Princess, as she was nicknamed. She was not one to blind due to her beauty, but she was no troll either. She had a luscious, flowing mane and deep hazel eyes. What would it be like to wake up looking at those? _Severus, what the hell? She is a STUDENT. She is one of the GOLDEN TRIO. Get a grip._

His legs were beginning to stiffen, so he began to walk around the classroom – he kept a close eye on Granger of course as she has been known to whisper tips into Longbottom's ear throughout lessons. Though he was grateful for this as it meant he would have no melting cauldrons or worse, a classroom blown to pieces he did love to take points from her and watch her shy away from his dark gaze. She always flushed, and he wondered why he had this effect on her? _Hmm..._

Just as he was thinking about her, she looked up from her potion straight at him. She held the gaze with him, as if fighting for victory but he bore in on her and he saw red creep onto her face and she briskly turned back to her potion. She could sense him when he was near her, as if he was the Sun and she the Earth, it was like he had some sort of gravitational pull on her. His eyes were magnificent, they seemed like bottomless black pits but she knew otherwise. Well she didn't know, but she could only imagine. She saw his eyes in her dreams, she saw HIM in her dreams. Everyone would think she was absolutely barking mad, that being part of the Golden Trio had made her lose her mind. She knew she hadn't. He was just so mesmerising.

Hermione didn't realise that she had been lost in her thoughts of her Potions master until she knocked the cauldron over, causing a huge explosion. She was thrown backwards, and hit the floor with a reasonable amount of force. She lifted her hand to her face, and though her vision was blurred she was able to see blood. Oh my god," she murmured, barely inaudible. _I have never had an accident in Potions before. Oh god oh god oh god. I'm going to be in so much trouble, _but before any kind of punishment he was likely to give her for majorly disrupting his class was pushed to the back of her mind as she heard him approach and crouch down beside her.

"Miss Granger?" he enquired, "Miss Granger, can you hear me?" She was only able to nod slowly, it hurt her to do much more. He noticed her pain and subconsciously wrapped his arms around her and began to carry her away in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All rights go to the magnificent JK Rowling, not me!

Explosions – Chapter 2

**A/N: Hope the first chapter was adequate, going to try and knock these chapters out reasonably quickly, but of course trying to keep the quality up. Review!**

_Her skin is so soft and she seems to fit perfectly in my arms, _he thought to himself. _Severus that is so inappropriate, _his mind retorted. S_he is clearly injured and quite dazed. Get it together, you are not some lovesick teenage boy driven by his hormones._

"Class dismissed." she heard him growl, and from behind her there was a clatter of stools as each and every pupil clambered out of the mess and left. Even Harry and Ron. _Were they not even bothered?_ Oh what did she care, she was in his arms.

She looked up at him, and her eyes were asking permission. For permission to cling on, and after some hesitation from her professor, he nodded slightly. Her arms wound their way tentatively round his neck, and she buried her head into his robes.

He smelt lovely, a concoction of spices and pine. Everyone believed he would smell truly vile, but it was the total opposite. It lured her in, and he hoped she didn't notice that he saw her sniff her. A deep chuckle emanated from his body, and for a second it startled her. She had never heard him laugh. _He sounds so carefree, so happy. And it was all because I had sniffed him? _Hermione seemed slightly perplexed as she looked up to him. That was right, he obviously wouldn't have heard him laugh. Had she even seen him smile before? Being the bat of the dungeons meant he had a reputation to keep up, but he wasn't soulless as many of his pupils seemed to believe.

Severus peered down at the girl in his arms, she had a few cuts on her face and would surely be bruised in the morning. _How had you been so careless? How had she been so careless? _She was his best student, however much he hated to admit that a Gryffindor was his best student, and he expected more of her._ What was wrong with her? _The explosion had occurred 'the look' (as his mind had dubbed it.)_ She certainly didn't think he would try Legillemency on her, did she? _

His footsteps echoed on the stone floor in the dungeons, and she wondered where on earth she was being taken. It wasn't to the hospital wing, because he would have gone up the stairs like any normal person. No, instead he seemed to be taking her deeper into his lair, his part of the castle. This was his home. Suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop outside a tapestry. Hermione looked around and the corridor was deserted. It was not until she heard him mutter some inaudible spell and look up just in time to see the tapestry transform into a door. It had a silver handle, with an intricately carved snake slithering around it. How appropriate.

_Shit, this must be his quarters! _Hermione panicked. She didn't know what else to do. Severus noticed her realisation, he couldn't stop watching her. He would be sure to lay her down as soon as possible, this must be so awkward for her, but strangely he was extremely comfortable with the situation. Holding his seventh year pupil in his arms, although she wasn't any ordinary pupil.

Striding through his doors, he transfigured his armchair into a sofa and laid her there, making sure he fluffed up the pillows before she settled. She looked up at him with a questioning gaze, as if she was unsure here. She was always so confident, and now she was in way over her head. She just lay. Not saying a word. Severus shifted his gaze around the room, but found himself unable to draw himself from her. _So vulnerable_, he thought. Mentally slapping himself, he informed her of why she was here and that he would go and retrieve the necessary concoctions to treat her.

Yet again, she wondered why he had not just taken her to the hospital wing...and with that. She closed her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the lucky one, not me. Sadly.

Explosions – Chapter 3

**A/N: Firstly I'd like to say thanks to t****hose that have put my story on favourites/alert and also thanks for the review ****NothingnessAlchemist, I didn't even expect a single review and yours made me smile and get writing the next few chapters. I'm still not sure where the story will go from here, well I am but not the fine details. Anyway...on with the show! Oh and if anyone is willing to beta let me know, would appreciate it greatly. **

As he made his way back into the living area, he noticed that she had drifted off to sleep. _She looks so peaceful. _He was amazed that she felt comfortable in his quarters and was able to fall into a deep sleep within moments. It did make him smile slightly though, because it meant that she mustn't think of him as such an old, greasy git. He didn't care 99.9% of his pupils still thought of him as a greasy git, she didn't.

Her chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm, and he decided that he would wait for her to wake before healing her and applying bruise salve. She probably wouldn't think too kindly of waking to him rubbing cream into her body. He would expect her to run out of his quarters screaming if he did that...

After about two hours, Hermione was beginning to stir from her slumber. Severus was sitting in the armchair opposite the transfigured sofa reading a book. The fire was crackling, and as Hermione's eyes opened sleepily, she thought she must still be dreaming. What was she doing in his quarters asleep? She panicked for a moment, but the events from the morning came rushing back. _His worried voice. His warm body. His smell. _She was staring at him, but didn't realise that he had placed his book down on his knees and was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She began to blush, and bury her head down into the pillow but it was no good. She was drawn into his eyes and he crossed the room to the sofa, silently requesting permission to take a seat next to her. She moved up and tucked her knees up close to her body, and he seemed very stiff.

"Miss Granger, how are you feeling now?" he inquired, with a slight look of worry on his face. He quickly turned made his facial expression passive once again. _I hope she didn't see that, _but she had. Switches started turning in her mind, wondering why he would be worried about her? She was only an annoying know-it-all. Nothing more. At least not to him, _right? _

"I'm...fine." After that response, Severus rose his eyebrow once again, disbelieving. It only took a few moments for it to all come spilling out. "Sorry professor, it's just I don't want you to be disappointed in me for being so clumsy. I didn't mean to knock the cauldron over! It's just...it's just. I don't know! You looked at me and then I couldn't concentrate on my potion anymore. I don't know what happened. Sorry...sir," she rushed the words out, and was very surprised that they made any sense. Some time during this emotional outburst she had buried her head into his chest and he had, subconsciously, put his arm around her and was holding her to him. He was whispering comforting words to her and was rubbing his hand up and down her back. _Who would have guessed that Professor Snape would be so comforting? _

Hermione soon began to drift off to sleep again as he was stroking her back, until he abruptly stood. "Sorry, Miss Granger. That was highly inappropriate of me. You are injured, let me see your hand please." His voice lacked any emotion, and she felt a pang in her heart. She hadn't done anything wrong, yet she felt like she was being punished. _I just don't understand him, one minute he's comforting me and letting me snuggle into him and the next he's the big bad professor again. _

As he was examining her hands, she was becoming flushed. _Oh not again. _When he touched her hands she felt all tingly and warm inside. She was confused, he was her professor and she really shouldn't be feeling these kinds of things towards him. _Does he feel it too? _

He had to apply some burn salve, as some of the potion she had been brewing had splashed onto her skin. He was mentally punishing himself for not treating her earlier, but luckily the potion which they had all been brewing would not do any damage to the skin (well, apart from the slight burning).

As he was rubbing in the salve, he could feel her watching his movement. He looked up to meet her eyes, and she had a warmth in her eyes. She was grateful for his help, he already knew that she disliked the hospital wing as much as he did so he thought that he would save her the trip. Madam Pomfrey was known to keep students on bed rest for some of the most unnecessary things, and he knew that Miss Granger was usually driven crazy when she was to be kept in the hospital wing. She would endlessly worry about the work she was missing in class and how many assignments she would have to do, even though every single teacher (including himself) knew that she was more than capable of missing a couple of lessons without it having any detrimental effect on her knowledge.

He did not realise that his hands were clear of the burn salve or that it had all been rubbed into the areas that needed treatment, he continued to rub lazy circles over her arms and hands. She did not feel the need to tell him of this either, as she was rather enjoying seeing this side to Severus Snape again. He seemed at ease with her, comfortable. _Her skin is so nice, and her face is glowing. I wonder if that is because of me? _

Severus and Hermione had taken the position that they had donned earlier, she was leaning into his body while his arm was around her shoulders stroking her right arm. She looked up at him, and he seemed to be following his fingers movements. She leaned up to his ear and whispered, "Professor?"

Severus was snapped out of his gaze by her sweet voice whispering into his ear, "Y-yes Miss Granger?" he replied, unsure of the emotion shown in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered to him, leaning back into his touch. He moved his hand from her arm, tilted up her chin and saw her close her eyes as he slowly progressed towards her face, his breathing was becoming unstable. _Snap out of it, and just enjoy it, _he told himself.

Her lips were soft and she managed to stand her ground when he was demanding entrance to explore her mouth, but eventually she was unable to keep him out any longer and let herself get lost in his touch. _He is such a good kisser_, she thought. He kissed with experience, and passion. He wasn't like any of the boys her age, they were all clumsy and sloppy.

After a few minutes they had to part for air, their breathing was ragged and as Severus looked into her eyes, he could not decipher what he saw. He panicked, thinking that she was going to reject him as soon as she had accepted him and stood swiftly, heading for his bedroom.

Hermione was left sitting there, speechless.

**A/N: Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the lucky one, not me. Sadly.

Explosions – Chapter 4

**A/N: Possibly going to be the last chapter, I'll see how it goes. Hope you have all liked it so far, I'm so happy that at least some people have – those who have favourited/reviewed/put this story on your alerts. It makes me feel like writing more and more (I have actually written a one shot because of the weather at the minute where I live, if you want to read it then it's 'Winter Fun' my only other story!)**

_What have I done? He's going to hate me forever now, god how stupid am I! _Hermione was telling herself off in her mind, as she still sat on the transfigured sofa, unsure of what to do next. Should she stay there or should she head back to her Head Girl rooms? She chose the latter, and made sure to slam his door on the way out.

He had felt her leave the wards, and found himself relieved yet disappointed at the same time. With her gone, he would be able to gather his thoughts and figure out what on earth he was going to do about the girl, _no she's a young woman Severus, get it right_, his mind butted in. When it came to emotions, Severus was not the most stable man in the universe. His mind is always frantically searching for something that would make the woman he was with to want to leave him, and in the case of young Hermione Granger it was the fact that she was a _young _woman. She wasn't a girl, but she was by no means yet a woman.

As Hermione lay spread eagle on her bed, her mind was racing. _Why had he reacted like that? Had she done something wrong? Did he just feel sorry for her because she had been hurt? _Questions like these were coming in and out of her mind, and she found herself unable to come to any conclusions about his actions. She decided that a trip to the library may help her relax. So, at that, she grabbed her book bag and traipsed the corridors down to the library. She went straight to her table, right at the back of the library away from the hustle and bustle of it all. Here, she was often able to find some sense in the most complicated situations or dilemmas or is just a nice, quiet area of the library to get immersed in a book. She was there today for the former. Trying to decipher the puzzle that was Severus Snape. After a lot of deliberation, Hermione began to doze off. Her face was lightly resting on an open book, and her hair was splayed in all directions across the table. It was not the most comfortable position to fall asleep in, but her mind was exhausted. She still couldn't figure out what was going on in that mind of his.

A shadowed figure strode into the library, his wand lit. It was past curfew, and somehow, he knew that he would find her here. He had spent the rest of the day in his quarters, hardly able to function. He was unable to get her out of his thoughts. _The way her lips felt against mine. The way she was so comfortable by my side. The way she let me continue to touch her after the burn salve had been applied. _He was baffled by her, he had never met any witch like her. He didn't want to let her slip through his fingers, but he was scared at the same time. Yes, scared. He had kept telling himself at numerous points through the day that it was acceptable to be scared but he wasn't used to feeling emotion. He was used to being expressionless, keeping all emotions locked away tightly. Then _she _had come along, and somehow in one little slip-up earlier that day, she had unlocked all of those emotions and was now at the brunt of every single one of them. Not just love and friendship, but anger and pain too. He didn't want her to have to put up with him, he usually took calculated risks in life, but she had not been one of them. Severus had jumped straight in without looking, and now he was sure he had hurt her.

He was not sure how long he had been standing watching her, and he didn't even know why he was there really. _It's to make sure she isn't hurt, _he kept telling himself but at the back of his mind _it's to apologise. To hold her in your arms. To kiss her. _

Hermione began to stir ever so slightly, her back was aching from the awkward sleeping position and she let out a groan. Severus, who had been seated at a table not so far away, watched her become aware of her surroundings but she did not register the black figure. She started to pack away bags into her book bag and stand to leave, when he decided that it was better now than never. He cleared his throat. Hermione looked up, startled. _Merlin! How long has he been here? _She didn't know what to do, _fight or flight, Hermione, fight or flight. Pick one. _

She chose flight. She threw her book bag over her shoulder and began to walk away, as she heard his footsteps follow her her speed increased until she was running, as was he. _Can he not just go? s_he mentally screamed. _Why won't she even LOOK at me? _he asked himself. Soon, Hermione was losing her breath and was running out of options. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm, and turned to see him standing there, also breathless.

"Hermione, we need to talk," he said, trying to catch his breath. _He's never called me Hermione before, _she thought. She looked into his eyes, and they held a pained expression. She didn't mean to have hurt him by running from him, but she didn't think she could face him. She still didn't think she was able to face him. Hermione nodded timidly, and he took her hand softly and led her into an abandoned classroom. He dropped her hand and muttered "Incendio." The few candles in the room flickered to life, giving the classroom a slight orange glow. He didn't use 'Lumos' because he didn't want to strain her eyes, since she had only woken up a few moments ago. _See, now you're being considerate Severus, _his mind scoffed.

Hermione was perched on one of the desks, picking at her fingernails. He walked over to her and took both of her hands in his. She still did not look up at him though. He cleared his throat for the second time in a very short space of time and her eyes found their way to his. He tried to find any sign of hatred in her eyes, but only found compassion and love. _The poor girl has loved you all along Severus, and you shut her out. You stupid, stupid man._ "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said, his voice was barely audible but he knew Hermione had heard him because she moved closer to him and wound her arms around his neck. With her face pushed against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. "I really am sorry," he repeated.

"I know," she replied, and tenderly kissed him on the cheek. They stayed like that for quite a while, just holding each other. It was one of the simplest signs of compassion, but it was enough for both of them.

Hermione stifled a yawn, and said "Sorry, Severus," and at using his given name she looked up at him to check it was okay with him that she called him this (he nodded his approval with a slight smile forming on his lips), "but a girl needs her beauty sleep. Especially when one has double Potions tomorrow..."

A smile was well and truly plastered on his face, and it was a wonderful sight to behold. He looked so happy and carefree when he smiled, and he had laughter lines. Something she would never had imagined him to have. "Well then, may I escort you back to your rooms then?", he said, offering his arm out. She gladly took his arm and they walked up to the Head Girl rooms in relative silence. They did not meet anyone on the ascent, not that they expected to meet anyone either since it was well past curfew by now. They had reached the door to her rooms, and Severus couldn't decide whether to just leave or do something. Before he had any more time to ponder on his decision, Hermione had gotten on her tiptoes and kissed him. It was just a short kiss, but he knew that it had a lot of emotion behind it. He returned the gesture and bid her goodnight.

As Hermione settled into bed for the second time that day, she could not help but smile at how strange her day had been. It was a good strange though. And with that thought, she drifted off into the land of nod.

Severus reached his private quarters and was about to head for his drinks cabinet and pour himself a glass of Firewhiskey when he thought otherwise and decided he would just sleep. He had the girl, he was content with himself and for once in his life did not need to drown his sorrows with alcohol. He went to bed and found himself dreaming of her.

Both were happy, and had found their place. All because of one explosion.

**A/N: So I decided to finish it with this chapter so made it a little longer. What did you think? Reviews! I will try and find time soon to write another story, because I really enjoy this! ;D**


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